What causes body odor? - Mel Rosenberg 

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"eating effects the way you smell" *eats flowers aggressively*

My armpit bacteria can't be this cute.

East Asians with that "no body odor" gene are so lucky!

stranger: "hello, can you...." Me: "talk to my armpit"

So basically a bunch of bacteria are having parties in our armpits while getting drunk on our sweat

It's virtually impossible to send this video to anyone without having to fear that they could misunderstand it...

In my case, my foot and armpits used to smell terrible when I first experienced puberty. However, I noticed that it eventually disappeared when I started taking care of my body such as taking a bath 1-2 times a day. I never used deodorants or any other chemicals that nullifies armpit odors so I really have no idea why the smell suddenly disappeared. But whatever the reason my foot and armpit doesn't smell, I am grateful for it. I mean I live in the Philippines and i am very much convinced that we only have two seasons; summer and summer premium. Scorching heat from the sun is a daily occurrence, making people here susceptible to excessive sweating everyday. I can't imagine the struggle of those who live in environments like this and suffer from terrible body odor at the same time no matter how much they take care of themselves.

My oldest son, at about 13 years old, developed a bad case of BO. I spoke with a doctor friend of mine and he informed me that the most effective method for eliminating BO, for most people, was to shave, and keep shaved the underarms and the private parts. I passed this on to my son and he followed the advice. After he did this, about 90% of the body odor disappeared. And he started showering twice a day, and the problem was solved. He has maintained this practice and is now 37. The thing was, he didn't know he had BO, but others did. This happened in the summer time and I was glad that the issue was resolved before school started up again. If you know someone who has this problem, chances are they don't know it choose to ignore it, which doesn't help them or their standing. You must get with the individual and in some way, bring it up gently. You need to approach it as something they have, not something they do. It is not someone's fault if they have BO, but they need to know. I approached my son by starting off talking about how some people have physical problems, like crooked teeth or acne. I asked him if somebody had crooked teeth, was it the fault of the person? He said of course not. And then I said if somebody had crooked teeth, but didn't know they had crooked teeth, shouldn't somebody tell them? He agreed. And I asked him if someone could tell the person with crooked teeth how to get his teeth straightened, shouldn't they pass on that information? He agreed. I asked him would the person with crooked teeth rather know about the crooked teeth and how to fix the crooked teeth or not know? You see where this was heading. My point was my son never resented me for not only letting him know, he also appreciated that I was able to offer a solution. He was glad that I brought this to his attention. If you know someone who has this problem, please talk to them about it, in a kind way.

One thousand years ago, the Chinese literally called armpit odor as barbarian stench and thought it might be some kind of infectious disease.

“recommended for you” :O

My mom is telling me my armpits are stinky but im literally going through puberty and im crying right now :(

It's a very shy moment when you smell worse while in class(mostly in case if you're an high school student) you will understand what and how the other buddies makes us shame by taking advantage on these things which we have no control over😭

Everyone gangster until they forget their deodorant while in school

Fun fact: The mutated gene (ABCC11 gene) that eliminates body odour, commonly found in East Asians, is also associated with how wet or dry their earwax is. People with the mutated gene most probably have dry earwax, meaning that those with wet earwax most probably produce body odour.

Yes the last part is true. I smelled my father clothes when I was younger and it didn't really smell bad entirely it was like my brain identified it as his unique smell. My brain actually was attached to it

It’s always so scary and I always feel ashamed if my body odor is really bad bc a lot of people can make fun of you bc of your body odor.

I always take shower 2 times a day and use deodorant and eat healthy food. But why do i have smelly armpits?? It gives me stress for years and everyday i confront people with this fear that they would say things like "whats this smell" "it stinks", ....

I'm Asian. I once had a white roommate. Great guy, he was awesome. But it was my first time living with non-asian and I did not know how severe this can be. Needless to say, the smell of him changed my view on life. I don't know if I can live with non-asians again.. LOL. Edit: I'm referring to East Asia.

That "hello" and "I like you" part was so cute , awwwwww!!!!😭

Lemon juice acts as a great antiseptic, getting rid of odour-causing bacteria. You could rub the juice from one half of a lemon on your underarms or, if you have sensitive skin, dilute it in water beforehand.

let me help you out a little bit, i am the most stinky person in this world if i dont bath everyday i smell like a dead person, i can wash my armpit for hours with soap and get out of the shower and still have the same smell, i have tried all the products of the drugstore without any luck, but the thing that eliminates the odor completly its cheap and extremely effective, is just sodium bicarbonate with lemon, just put a little pile of sodium and cut a lemon in half and dip it in the sodium and then aply to the arm pit, after you have some of that bicarbonate squeeze the lemon and leave ir for like 10mins then shower, you wont smell bad 100% guaranteed (sry for my bad english, hope some1 can understand and change his life, its a fking life changing experience)

Stank' you for the video.

I am Asian and can confirm that we don't make that kind of smell. I was astounded when I first smelled body odor. It was in high school when I moved to the States. I had no idea that humans were capable of producing that kind of stench.

I love that these videos are just short

For people like me who suffers from bad body smell no matter how clean we are....i wish there was a specialist out there who cared about our problems and actually had praise reports of people being cured from this monstrosity. Plenty of people talk about you but no one to be found who can actually help with our personal needs. They say garlic and onions are healthy for your immune system yet I should stay away because it will make my body smell..that sucks also because I love onion, garlic, spices. Etc.

4:03 *weirdest* *confession* *ever...*

3:59 I never thought i would see this in a ted ed animation, i love it

I have to admit I was shocked the first time I went to Europe because of the smell people have during summer. I am from South America (Colombia), People here have body odor but the use of deodorant and antiperspirant is an everyday thing for us to use. It is not common to feel those smells in the people surrounding us. I suppose the Diet and the difference between cultures have an impact on it.

I feel like non-smelly people will never understand the utter FEAR that comes with having BO. Even after just showering and getting on the train in the morning I could tell I still smelled but there was nothing I could do.

*Q:* What causes body odor? *A:* Being me.

This is so helpful thank you so much!

This animation is really beautiful

I’ve been battling pit smells since puberty 🥺 I use antiperspirant deodorant when I go out but when I’m at home I just allow my pits the freedom to smell. I tried almost every deodorant nothing worked for long however dove seems to be working. Update I noticed the Crystal mineral deodorant is great and it helps my smell while still allowing my pits to sweat naturally.

my g.f used love smelling my pits from time to time.she would say it smells like chicken..i used think it was a fetish but now im thinking i actually eat way too much chicken.

I remember the very first time I went outside of China and to the US for my education. My roommate who was an American laughed at me for not knowing what a deodorant was. Well turns out it's because we don't need it lol. Who's laughing now, buddy? xD

One way to totally eliminate body odor for 12 hours or so is to spend about an hour in a chlorinated swimming pool. Also, if you ever start getting a weird/different body odor, an hour in a chlorinated swimming pool may fix it by killing off whatever bacteria is causing it, after which the "normal" bacteria will repopulate.

Kid : how did you and dad meet Mom : we met through body odor

I'm already 14 and this just happened to me yesterday my armpit smells like a feet that hasn't been washed 3 years...guess i have late puberty

Well I have had similar experience like this too. I met my online ex-boyfriend after months of texts and calls . And on the day I met him i could smell the body odour which was kinda turn off for me but eventually spending time with him for a week I saw how hygienic he was, used to shower twice a day I couldn’t care more and I don’t judge him or the others now it’s just how the body works for them.

2:53 I'm east asian living in a western country and it really took me a while to understand why deodorant is a thing here. Never thought about the fact that most east asians I know have no strong natural body odor is a genetic thing. The things you learn.

Native guy from Canada here, as a result of us being a large percentage of (East) Asian (from about 20,000 years ago), I also have the gene variant that produces lack of odour. This same gene also produces dry earwax which I also have. Growing up I noticed that my white friends all used 'deodorant' so I assumed I needed it too and bought some, stopped using it though once I realized I produce no real body odour when I sweat. So, this variant must be at least 20,000 years old or so.

Don’t eat so much meat and dairy. Exercise and work up a good sweat. You won’t produce as much body odor.

I smell too much while I sweat, on the other hand my mother doesn't, her body reflects a fresh vibe when she sweats... So I've got the odor gene from my father and now this body odour is one of my biggest insecurities. 😑😑😑😑 I'm pissed off 😑😑😑

Armpits: *secrete * Bacteria: allow us to introduce ourselves

Please do a video on whether consuming cold things or experiencing cold can ever cause sickness

"eating affects the way you smell" Me eating all my quarantine snacks:oH

The last part is true, when im alone i don't smell anything in my body, but when some one come near me theres a bad odor occur

This is very useful. thank you

The way you guys depicted that bacteria part, in particularly, was extremely beautiful! Thank you for keep on sharing such insights.

This animation is bloody well done! Love the style!

Thank you for let us know 😊

beautiful illustrations

"Eating affects the way you smell." Me: *Eats Deodrant* Me Again: Hope that solves the issue :)

i love these science / biology videos because i get to learn just like other people

I have less body odor than I had in the past because I had laser hair removal under my arms because underarm hair traps odor. But still, I wear deodorant every day to smell good. Not only did I want to permanently remove my underarm hair because I felt self-conscious of it, but also to reduce body odor

According to my genomic sequencing, I have the wet ear wax ABCC11 variant and once had body odor as expected, requiring use of deodorants. It took about 3 months for an adjustment to finally take place, but when I stopped washing my body with soap or any cleaner for that matter, the body odor went away (along with some other positive changes) and never recurred. Washing the underarms for instance with soap destroys the microbiome balance. If I get excited or concerned now, typical body odor returns for a few minutes and then goes away. As for general hygiene, you mindfully need not too much and not too little. I'm on automatic with help from my friendly microbiome and most (but not all) others are on manual, with a huge cost of resources and time due to misguided social conventions.

_"Smell is a potent wizard"_ *you're a wizard, smell.*

Fantastic animation! I hope to see more of it in others ted eds. Please keep the hard work :)

I used to shower every day with aleppo soap to remove underarm smell, but it would work only temporarily and I'd just smell again the next day. So I tried shaving underarm hair and it did help a lot in eliminating body odor. However, after reading James Hamblin's , I neither shave nor shower and I never smell unless I'm sick or lack exercise. It seems that the microbiomes on my skin rebalance and adjust themselves without my having to clean or moisturize.

Thank you, may God bless you and everyone. ❤

Love the animations, plz keep them coming. Much love for the channel. God bless

The animation and his voice is so relaxing

Thank you for posting Vietnamese subtitles

Can you guys talk about how hair removal by waxing these areas affect our bodies

I love watching ted ed before I sleep because the calmness of the narrator relaxes me & makes me sleepy

'body odor can be more intense when you're nervous' i literally just started a job, 3 weeks of 'skooling' and every day i'm good. since i started being on the field actually working, i smell sooo bad every day. i hate it so much, embarrassed to get within a few meters from anybody and the worst part, i don't think i'll ever not be nervous at that job :(

This came at the perfect time

I've enjoyed reading a recently-published book, Diana of Orchard Slope (the classic Anne of Green Gables story re-told from her bosom friend's point of view). It's a superb book, but I rather wish the authoress had included some puberty issues (things that wouldn't have been permitted to be written, in 1908): it would have filled a void, and provided some "comfort through empathy" for us real-life tortured souls! (For example, Diana could be minding her own business, enjoying her daydreams about Gilbert, and someone would come along and tell her she smells a bit sweaty, bringing her crashing down to Earth!)

I agree on the last part that some body odor attracts people in some way. When I get near someone even though they're all sweaty, I still find them smell good in their natural scent.

thank you always for your very informative videos with great animations! 🤗🙌🏼

Hi everyone, I made my own deodorant a week ago and my deodorant is amazing, I previously used commercial deodorant products and it didn't work and it made my armpits itchy , here I want to tell you what ingredients That's all I need, arrowroot powder, coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, bentonite clay, and some drops of essential oil, I'm very sensitive to baking soda and it makes my underarms darker so I don't add baking soda anymore, this deodorant is really amazing for me , I don't have a bad odor all day long as long as I wear this every day, I have the desire to sell my own products haha, I hope this information helps you guys

Hello & I like you coming from armpits gave me laughter fits!😂😂😂😂 I hope this day come soon and I would not need words any more!

That's why i love this channel it answers my basic questions in life🔥

4:00 I'm definitely gonna try for chemical bond 😂😂😂

this really helped me talk to my first girl!!!!!

Thanks!

I think what you eat have great effect on how you smell. I have a friend who drinks flower tea every day, doesnt use deodoranr, and she smells just like a flower. The more she sweats the better she smells, super weird right 😂😂😂😂 and it's not just me who think so, every one who encounters her says the same thing. Another thing, I lived in Shanghai for a month and something about that place distorted my usual odor 😂😂😂😂 since week 2 I smelled kinda sweet without using deodorant and after returning to my usual habitat, i was able to live without deodorant for another 2 weeks before the usual odor came back~~~

Thanks for the Educational video! We need dem facts!

I didn't have armpit odour before I was 18 but after turning 18 I started having body odour. My daily routine didn't change much. Shower in the morning and night But I guess I am unlucky.. Despite all the ways to keep myself extra clean. I am still suffering from smelly armpit for 3years and half now

Sometimes i need to use lemon in my armpits to "cure" my bad smell. I keep good hygine and eat healthly, and I suffer for my own smell! It makes me super self-conscious and insecure, because this smell can happen at the gym but at work as well. Something that's helped me during times when my odor is speciali strong (and awful) is lemon, aplying lemon in my armpits instead of deodorant, and washing clothes with vinegar.

It’s important to know that TMAU and other conditions, diseases and metabolic disorders that cause body and that sometimes smells aren’t caused by lack of showers.

I've tried this product I bought in Philippines called Tawas Powder and it works wonderfully!! It's like putting moistened salt to ur armpits and it leaves your armpits odourless the whole day!! Although when u wash it off, you'll go back to normal. It really saved me for these past few weeks coz I had 2 tubs of it but it ran out. Now sadly can't even buy it coz of cORONA 😭

I need to keep my armpits refreshed

Dang. I remembered myself smelling like some kind of metal or solder. It went on for days and won't disappear no matter how I wash my pits.

I was looking for this question for 100 year

I came back home one day after college and my house smelled like something had died. It was so bad I almost puked. My dad had called a plumber over hours before and he was the source of the smell. The floor felt weird even after my mum had mopped the floor and she said the smell was 10x worse when he was here

Apple cider, baking soda and water, lemon or lime, henna powder and lime or lemon when taking shower… try these home remedies if you’re having this issue! And don’t be ashamed of yourself this is completely normal!

This is so true

0:24 I thought there was an ant on my cellphone

At 3:03 why did the bacteria arrange themselves into a heart xD I guess they just love you for all those delish nutrients

i stopped eating dairy and sugar for about a week and throughout it i noticed my sweat and that ODOR literally completely went away..i’ve started to eat a little more lenient again and the odor is so bad.. but i dont want to have to completely starve myself again

I love the drawing style

I’ve done a good bit of long distance hiking, the other hikers and myself smelled HORRIBLE! But we instantly formed a bond when we met other smelly hikers. It was an interesting time in my life.

there is also METABOLIC Body Odor types ... like TMAU (trimethylaminuria)

Everytime I sprayed deodorant on my armpit I dreaded how these chemicals might cause some kind of cancer in the future but after watching the video I am now having a rethink about its utility and affect.

Try wiping pits with isopropyl alcohol then applying a little bit of powdered baking soda afterwards. Works great!

I know for a fact that improving your diet improves your scent.... And taste. *ahem*

Here's a better question that always bugged me, why do we find some scents good and some bad? I mean, why do we even immediately interpret as bad?

Ive been blessed, for some reason i does not smell, and i barely sweat too.